EXISTING but more powerful laws must be used to take down organised crime including heads of organisations who drive Malaysia’s multi-billion ringgit illegal cigarettes trade, said a legal columnist today.
Paneir Selvam’s comments came following recent calls by several parties for the Government and enforcement agencies to take severe action against illegal cigarette traffickers and ‘kingpins’ heading these organisations.
“Malaysia is on the verge of a grave situation in relation to illegal trafficking and organised crime and this problem must be addressed as a national security issue,” said the HELP University Faculty of Business, Economics and Accounting and Institute Crime and Criminology senior lecturer.
Citing a case in point, in June 2021, the police raided a warehouse and store in Tasek Gelugor, Penang, and had arrested five men while seizing 18.5 million contraband cigarettes worth RM13.87 mil.
“According to investigations, the cigarettes were smuggled from a neighbouring country using marine routes and mid-sea transfers. The illegal cigarettes were then stored in a registered company’s warehouse and store.”
Their modus operandi, Selvam said, clearly indicates a high level of multi-national and multi-layered organisation with the support of both foreign and local authorities.
Despite the fact that Malaysia has a number of laws and enforcement agencies in place to combat the smuggling of contraband cigarettes into the country, the problem has not been adequately managed, he added.
“The current political unrest and economic crisis will provide criminals with even more opportunities to broaden their horizons in illegal trade.
“Now is the time for enforcement agencies to deploy more effective laws like the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA), the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA) and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA) to act against organised crime and dissuade others from becoming involved in such crimes in Malaysia,” Selvam concluded. – Aug 13, 2021.
